Hyundai is combining two rapidly-advancing technologies to create a much smoother and easier experience for drivers charging their vehicles in public spots.
Hyundai is advancing the concept of wireless charging for electric vehicles, allowing owners to simply pull into a designated wireless charging parking spot and enable their EVs to charge while they shop or attend meetings, etc.
The one hurdle with that convenience is that once the vehicle is charged (sometimes in as little as 15 minutes), the occupied spot can’t be used by other EVs needing a charge. So, the company tied the process of charging wirelessly with the recent technology of autonomous parking, where drivers exit their cars at the curb and the cars go off to find a parking spot and park themselves, until being called back to the spot where they dropped off their drivers.
It all works through a mobile app, of course, where the driver can exit the EV and send it off to a wireless charging station. When it’s fully charged, it will relocate itself to a vacant parking spot using Hyundai’s Automated Valet Parking System (AVPS). When the driver calls for the vehicle, it will return to the spot where the initial drop off occurred.
The process depends heavily on vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, so the vehicle can communicate with charging system and facilities, parking facilities, and the driver. The technology is expected with the launch of Level 4 autonomy (where, in controlled areas or under specific situations like traffic jams, the driver is not required to be paying attention to the task of driving the vehicle), expected around 2025.
Hyundai plans to introduce autonomous technology to select vehicles in its brands in 2021 with the intent of launching fully-autonomous vehicles by 2030.